Post by Nka on Sept 28, 2014 14:48:46 GMT -6
NKA PROJECTS: MUD HOUSE BUILDING WORKSHOPS
(Reinventing the African Mud Hut Together)
Prototyping and Usability Testing: Be part of it!
IMMERSE. EXPLORE… LEARN!
Nka Foundation seeks graduates and students of architecture, design and others from around the world to participate in the prototyping workshops to build the best design entries in the Mud House Design 2014 based on site in Ghana. The prototyping workshop is a full-on, hands-on experience. It promises high-impact learning practice, ideal for motivated university students or recent graduates seeking real-world learning opportunities to explore and generate a contemporary mud house type through use of earth and other materials from the environment.
The objective of the prototyping workshop team is to IMMERSE in the Ashanti culture to EXPLORE and LEARN by doing site analysis, field trips and building the design solution with local labor. The team will use the Abetenim site to build the prototype (demonstration unit) and through open house garner feedbacks from potential clients for the design to roll out, regionally. Specifically, the workshop will start with site-specific tours of the local Ashanti architecture and talking to the local people to gain awareness and knowledge of the local building traditions. And taking into account the site conditions and discussions from site-specific tours, the workshop team will review the design entry, complete the design process and build their proposal. We aim, as we go, to change the way young architects and social designers go about their work and who benefits from their design.
IMMERSE in the Ashanti culture and lifestyles and gain global experience for personal development or professional growth. The experience of “being there” in another culture and responding to the people, places and lifestyles create the means to self-awareness, heightened cross-cultural communication skills and cross-cultural understanding to better prepare students for jobs in the global marketplace. Thus, cultural orientation is throughout the project stay. Participants live and work on the project at Abetenim in the Ejisu-Juaben District. Following introduction to the community, the international participants are encouraged to attend some of the Abetenim community events such as community environmental day, weddings, naming ceremonies, and festivals. Accommodation will be of guest house and camp style at the village.
EXPLORE and have fun... You will have short breaks from the construction works to visit the Boabeng-Fiema Monkey Sanctuary or a cool off all day at the Kintampo waterfalls at Sunyani. Along the way you will be further exposed to architecture in other parts of the country. Over the weekend, participant can explore the nearby cultural sites such as Bomwire Kente Village, Bobiri Forest Reserve, or the cultural centres of the historic city of Kumasi that bring cultural tourism to the region. Or, you can spend the rest of the period collaborating with indigenous musicians, weavers, storytellers, or teach some of the lifeskills you know to the local school children. After the workshop, it is your time to relax and be a tourist. You may take your time to visit other places you really would like to see of which the region is known, whether for your academic interests or sightseeing like vacationers.
LEARN by doing on a collaborative project. The prototyping workshop is a collaborative process. We seek to offer life-changing experience for our workshop participants. It takes recent graduates and students out of the classroom and into an intense learning-by-doing process that challenges them to interact, creatively and physically, for cross-fertilization of ideas and skills. Most evenings will be used for reviewing workshop progress along with informal discussions and presentations by Workshop Director and international participants. Design, site-specific issues, and construction strategy are all debated in an effort to create useful structures that are environmentally sustainable and meet local needs. And by engaging in field trips to observe local architecture and working on the building project with local builders, the international participants are exposed to Non-Western ways of thinking and doing in earth architecture. By alternating work and dialogues, the participants will experience how a design problem, budget and site-specific dynamics such as materials, indigenous technologies and community can provoke resourceful thinking and hybridization. In the process, the student will learn to design what is buildable to make a well-rounded graduate. For the professional, you will find the hands-on earth building experience a pause from your office work to rediscover the rudiments of architecture and nuances that can refresh your practice.
Project will come to closure with a Community Day, a public celebration of the completed project by way of open house exhibition of the built unit and associated works, public performances, and foods. At the end, you leave with real skills and experience that employers and clients value.
IMMERSE. EXPLORE… LEARN!
Nka Foundation seeks graduates and students of architecture, design and others from around the world to participate in the prototyping workshops to build the best design entries in the Mud House Design 2014 based on site in Ghana. The prototyping workshop is a full-on, hands-on experience. It promises high-impact learning practice, ideal for motivated university students or recent graduates seeking real-world learning opportunities to explore and generate a contemporary mud house type through use of earth and other materials from the environment.
The objective of the prototyping workshop team is to IMMERSE in the Ashanti culture to EXPLORE and LEARN by doing site analysis, field trips and building the design solution with local labor. The team will use the Abetenim site to build the prototype (demonstration unit) and through open house garner feedbacks from potential clients for the design to roll out, regionally. Specifically, the workshop will start with site-specific tours of the local Ashanti architecture and talking to the local people to gain awareness and knowledge of the local building traditions. And taking into account the site conditions and discussions from site-specific tours, the workshop team will review the design entry, complete the design process and build their proposal. We aim, as we go, to change the way young architects and social designers go about their work and who benefits from their design.
IMMERSE in the Ashanti culture and lifestyles and gain global experience for personal development or professional growth. The experience of “being there” in another culture and responding to the people, places and lifestyles create the means to self-awareness, heightened cross-cultural communication skills and cross-cultural understanding to better prepare students for jobs in the global marketplace. Thus, cultural orientation is throughout the project stay. Participants live and work on the project at Abetenim in the Ejisu-Juaben District. Following introduction to the community, the international participants are encouraged to attend some of the Abetenim community events such as community environmental day, weddings, naming ceremonies, and festivals. Accommodation will be of guest house and camp style at the village.
EXPLORE and have fun... You will have short breaks from the construction works to visit the Boabeng-Fiema Monkey Sanctuary or a cool off all day at the Kintampo waterfalls at Sunyani. Along the way you will be further exposed to architecture in other parts of the country. Over the weekend, participant can explore the nearby cultural sites such as Bomwire Kente Village, Bobiri Forest Reserve, or the cultural centres of the historic city of Kumasi that bring cultural tourism to the region. Or, you can spend the rest of the period collaborating with indigenous musicians, weavers, storytellers, or teach some of the lifeskills you know to the local school children. After the workshop, it is your time to relax and be a tourist. You may take your time to visit other places you really would like to see of which the region is known, whether for your academic interests or sightseeing like vacationers.
LEARN by doing on a collaborative project. The prototyping workshop is a collaborative process. We seek to offer life-changing experience for our workshop participants. It takes recent graduates and students out of the classroom and into an intense learning-by-doing process that challenges them to interact, creatively and physically, for cross-fertilization of ideas and skills. Most evenings will be used for reviewing workshop progress along with informal discussions and presentations by Workshop Director and international participants. Design, site-specific issues, and construction strategy are all debated in an effort to create useful structures that are environmentally sustainable and meet local needs. And by engaging in field trips to observe local architecture and working on the building project with local builders, the international participants are exposed to Non-Western ways of thinking and doing in earth architecture. By alternating work and dialogues, the participants will experience how a design problem, budget and site-specific dynamics such as materials, indigenous technologies and community can provoke resourceful thinking and hybridization. In the process, the student will learn to design what is buildable to make a well-rounded graduate. For the professional, you will find the hands-on earth building experience a pause from your office work to rediscover the rudiments of architecture and nuances that can refresh your practice.
Project will come to closure with a Community Day, a public celebration of the completed project by way of open house exhibition of the built unit and associated works, public performances, and foods. At the end, you leave with real skills and experience that employers and clients value.
COSTS: Accommodation at Abetenim is €60/$80 per week and food is about €60/$80 per week plus project contribution of €400/$540. What are Included: 1. Cultural Orientation throughout the program; 2. Local meals: lunch and dinner daily; 3. Accommodation in our guest house; 4. Support: Pre-trip written guide, onsite staff available 24/7. The international volunteer/participant is responsible for her/his airfare. Project organizers will provide €2,000 toward building materials based on 16 to 20 international participants enrolling in the workshop.
WHO CAN PARTICIPATE: Everybody is welcome: students and recent graduates of architecture, design, advocates of sustainable practice, and volunteers. Students can use the workshop opportunity to fulfill the academic requirements for their stage/internship, thesis, or volunteer just for learning-by-doing on a vernacular architecture project.
DURATION: Each prototyping workshop will run from 8 to 12 weeks, depending on the building method. International volunteers can join at any time and participate from a minimum of 2 weeks.
ACCOMMODATION: Accommodation will be of guest house at the village. Food is by cooperative kitchen in which we all work together in sharing the planning, cost and shopping. Most evenings will be used for reviewing workshop progress along with informal discussions and presentations by Workshop Leader/Director and international participants. This time is usually while dinner is being cooking for the team.
DURATION: Each prototyping workshop will run from 8 to 12 weeks, depending on the building method. International volunteers can join at any time and participate from a minimum of 2 weeks.
ACCOMMODATION: Accommodation will be of guest house at the village. Food is by cooperative kitchen in which we all work together in sharing the planning, cost and shopping. Most evenings will be used for reviewing workshop progress along with informal discussions and presentations by Workshop Leader/Director and international participants. This time is usually while dinner is being cooking for the team.
Got a question, concern or something to share in light of the above information?
(1) “Is health insurance cover provided for participants by Nka?”
No. Past participants readily get subsidized medical attention at a nearby government clinic for minors incidental issues. There is the KNUST university hospital in the region for critical issues. To purchase a coverage, we suggest that you call the study abroad program office in your local university to obtain a list of companies that provide affordable international health insurance plans for global travel. If you are not affiliated with any school, World Nomads travel insurance (http://www2.worldnomads.com) offers insurance deals designed specifically with volunteer travellers in mind.
(2) Do you know exactly where the house will be built?
Yes, we have a 6-acre site to build the units on. It is in Abetenim, located 40 km Southeast of Kumasi in the Ashanti Region of Ghana. The site has 4 dwelling units, where your workshop participants will stay and build your design. Here is the Google map of the site and the site plan for the build:
Google Map of Abetenim Site Plan for the Build
On the site, the top soil is of red earth mixed with gravel, which is an ideal proportion for rammed earth, mud brick, cast earth or cob construction. For images of what the local earth is like, see: nkaprojects.boards.net/thread/18/soil-map
(4) Workers: local people? who finds them? Construction supervision on site?
Yes, we have local builders who work on our projects in the community. Our site has a Community Coordinator, who facilitate the building workshop process including cultural orientation, language translation, sourcing building materials and local labor, negotiation, and supervision.
(5) Do we know who it will be built for?
It will be a prototype (a demonstration unit) and will be used by international volunteers who come to Abetenim to help with rural development works.
(6) "What info do you have about accommodation?
We have 4 guest houses already built on the site where your group will stay.
(7) "It would be nice to send people a starter pack when they sign up, are there any you have used in the past or shall I make one?"
Yes, I agree with you. We have a pre-departure pack, Arrival Instruction for International Participants. It provides answers to questions of port of entry, airport transfer, and arrival at project site. We will send it upon request.
(7) "Do you have any guidance on organising the workshop? How you have done so in the past, or do you have preferences in how we organise ours?"
We have not preferences in how the design team organizes the workshop to realize their design. Here is the general frame that works for us:
The workshop will start with site-specific tours of the local Ashanti architecture and talking to the local people to gain awareness and knowledge of the local building traditions. And taking into account the site conditions and discussions from site-specific tours, the workshop team will review the design entry, complete the design process and build their proposal with local builders. Accommodation will be of guest house at the village. Most evenings will be used for reviewing workshop progress along with informal discussions and presentations by Workshop Director and international participants. By alternating work and dialogues, we hope to uncover the technicalities of building with earth namely financing, site analysis, construction and landscaping to blend with the local context.
The rest of the workshop content is up to you and your participants. You are free to mix the above (tours, discussion and construction) with your special interests (music, theatre, working with children, cooking, nature hiking, etc) or best practices in your area of specialization. If you play an instrument, you may bring it with you and ask others in your workshop to do the same for group and impromptu performances. If you love to cook or sample food from different countries. Then, you may include food in the program. For example, dinner may be by cooperative kitchen in which we all work together in sharing the planning, cost, shopping and cooking. Participants take turns. This way the team will taste examples of cuisine from the countries represented by the participants.
(8) "We hear about the Ebola issue over and over in the mass media?" Much of it is sensational. The outbreak were in three countries, which are Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea. Eboloa is contained in the rest of the world. Read more: www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2014/11/03/map-the-africa-without-ebola/
(9) Why is the cost of participation of this workshop (400€) higher than the ones of precedent and on-going workshops (mentioned below)? Project contributions 400€ from international participants and 3000€ from Nka cover materials and local labor. The Project Leader may use a percent of that toward air fare to come and run the workshop. In some of the workshops, such as MUD HOUSE BUILDING WORKSHOP, the workshop leader is a graduate student, so she is able to get travel funding to build her project. Because she does not need fund from the workshop, she chose to reduce the project contribution to €200.
(10) I need photos from your previous and current projects to update my social media pages. Can you send some? Yes, let us know and we will send the latest images. You may select images from photostreams on our previous projects:
(1) www.flickr.com/photos/nkaprojects (site photos)
(2) www.flickr.com/photos/artinprocess/sets/72157621992680241 (500 photos from our 2009 "The Kumasi Symposium: Tapping Local Resources for Sustainable Education through Art", we commissioned Bello Benischauer of Artinprocess.com to take the photographs. Curio Kiosks Project, an artistic invention that integrated art and architecture, and view www.artinprocess.com/curio-kiosks-project/ which is a 05:56 minute video on the Curio Kiosks Project.
(11) What tools and equipment do you have on site for the building the house? The tools we have are basic. We have gas-powered concrete mixer, manual brick making machine, circular saw, sander-grinder, electric drill, trowel, and a few other barefoot tools such as 2 wheelbarrows, 5 shovels, 3 pick axes, 1 mattock, 4 barrels and a 50-feet water hose.
Our Wish list:
(1) Pneumatic Rammer - We would like to have Pneumatic Rammer for make rammed earth construction quicker and of better compaction of the layers.
(2) Sprayer for Plasters - Hand Pump Sprayer or Electric Sprayer for Earth Plasters. In some countries it can referred to as: Sprayer for Lime Plaster, Texture Sprayer, Stucco Sprayer, Sprayer for Earthen Plasters, Mortar Plastering Machine or Mortar Spray Machine.
NOTE: About your building workshop, if you have a power tool (such as electric saw, power drill, planer, etc) that you don’t use and it still works- please bring it with you as your donation to our project. We will take anything, 20-year old or new power tools; this way, we will have a pool of tools you and others can use. And if there is a special power tool or small equipment you must have for your workshop and able to purchase and bring it with you, we will refund you the cost when you arrive Abetenim. But you must inform us of the exact cost of the equipment ahead of the purchase to be sure our budget can bear the cost.
(12) “I have received only a few applications for my workshop. It worries me. What do I do?”
I understand that you are yet to have a half of the number of participants needed to fill your workshop. Here is my suggestion: It is about “Widening the Circle of We”: Get everyone who applies to be involved in the promotion and planning of the different activities of the workshop. It will take a bit of your time but it works. Talk with each potential participant on the phone or via Skype to find out what skills and professional interest/experience they have and are willing to bring into the workshop. Thus, you should assign a task/role to the person. For example, an interior design person can be responsible for both the cost and doing the interior design of the unit. Likewise, a landscape architect can be responsible for the landscape design and landscaping of the unit. This way, they feel they are valued and will be much committed to the successes of your workshop. Then, begin to use the term, “our workshop”, other than “my workshop”. Now, they can help you in recruiting others in their circle of influence even fundraising. This is what I mean by “Widening the Circle of We”. You can’t do it alone.
(13) What if my team’s budget for materials is not much to complete our build and it is the raining season? I am concerned that, if not roofed, the mud wall can collapse because of the heavy rains.
If the available funds may not be sufficient to complete your design, consider the following: First do the house foundation and then do the roof. For the walling and fittings, do the best your team is able to.
Yes, some people build houses with mud in the thick of the rainy season by first doing the roof. The roof is done on poles (not the final poles), once the walling is complete, the poles are removed and the roof is lowered into position with the wall, and them clamped down. The space between the wall and the beam may need to be plastered a bit to seal the deal.
(10) I need photos from your previous and current projects to update my social media pages. Can you send some? Yes, let us know and we will send the latest images. You may select images from photostreams on our previous projects:
(1) www.flickr.com/photos/nkaprojects (site photos)
(2) www.flickr.com/photos/artinprocess/sets/72157621992680241 (500 photos from our 2009 "The Kumasi Symposium: Tapping Local Resources for Sustainable Education through Art", we commissioned Bello Benischauer of Artinprocess.com to take the photographs. Curio Kiosks Project, an artistic invention that integrated art and architecture, and view www.artinprocess.com/curio-kiosks-project/ which is a 05:56 minute video on the Curio Kiosks Project.
(11) What tools and equipment do you have on site for the building the house? The tools we have are basic. We have gas-powered concrete mixer, manual brick making machine, circular saw, sander-grinder, electric drill, trowel, and a few other barefoot tools such as 2 wheelbarrows, 5 shovels, 3 pick axes, 1 mattock, 4 barrels and a 50-feet water hose.
Our Wish list:
(1) Pneumatic Rammer - We would like to have Pneumatic Rammer for make rammed earth construction quicker and of better compaction of the layers.
(2) Sprayer for Plasters - Hand Pump Sprayer or Electric Sprayer for Earth Plasters. In some countries it can referred to as: Sprayer for Lime Plaster, Texture Sprayer, Stucco Sprayer, Sprayer for Earthen Plasters, Mortar Plastering Machine or Mortar Spray Machine.
NOTE: About your building workshop, if you have a power tool (such as electric saw, power drill, planer, etc) that you don’t use and it still works- please bring it with you as your donation to our project. We will take anything, 20-year old or new power tools; this way, we will have a pool of tools you and others can use. And if there is a special power tool or small equipment you must have for your workshop and able to purchase and bring it with you, we will refund you the cost when you arrive Abetenim. But you must inform us of the exact cost of the equipment ahead of the purchase to be sure our budget can bear the cost.
(12) “I have received only a few applications for my workshop. It worries me. What do I do?”
I understand that you are yet to have a half of the number of participants needed to fill your workshop. Here is my suggestion: It is about “Widening the Circle of We”: Get everyone who applies to be involved in the promotion and planning of the different activities of the workshop. It will take a bit of your time but it works. Talk with each potential participant on the phone or via Skype to find out what skills and professional interest/experience they have and are willing to bring into the workshop. Thus, you should assign a task/role to the person. For example, an interior design person can be responsible for both the cost and doing the interior design of the unit. Likewise, a landscape architect can be responsible for the landscape design and landscaping of the unit. This way, they feel they are valued and will be much committed to the successes of your workshop. Then, begin to use the term, “our workshop”, other than “my workshop”. Now, they can help you in recruiting others in their circle of influence even fundraising. This is what I mean by “Widening the Circle of We”. You can’t do it alone.
(13) What if my team’s budget for materials is not much to complete our build and it is the raining season? I am concerned that, if not roofed, the mud wall can collapse because of the heavy rains.
If the available funds may not be sufficient to complete your design, consider the following: First do the house foundation and then do the roof. For the walling and fittings, do the best your team is able to.
Yes, some people build houses with mud in the thick of the rainy season by first doing the roof. The roof is done on poles (not the final poles), once the walling is complete, the poles are removed and the roof is lowered into position with the wall, and them clamped down. The space between the wall and the beam may need to be plastered a bit to seal the deal.
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